Bern Schwartz- Portraiture

Photography exhibit of world renowned Bern Schwartz comes
to Jerusalem with the support of the Jerusalem Foundation


David Hockney

June 6, 2012 – Jerusalem Israel:  Some of the world's most famous politicians, world leaders, writers, philanthropists, actors, dancers and artists, subjects of the photographer Beren Schwartz, will be exhibited in Jerusalem at the Naggar School of Photography, Music and New Media and in Mishkenot Sha'ananim.  

About 70 iconic portraitures, taking us back 30 years, will be donated to the Naggar School for use and study by its students after the exhibit.  

In the 1970s, Bern Schwartz photographed some of Israel's well known figures:  Shimon Peres, Israel's current President, former Prime Minister Golda Meir, Gnereal Moshe Dayan, Abba Eban, and Teddy Kollek, former Mayor of Jerusalem and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation.  

Bern Schwartz, a successful businessman in his own right, fell in love with photography at the age of 14, but did not pursue it as a career until 1975, when he was in his 60s.   With the support of his family, he began a second and highly successful career.  After learning portraiture, lighting and angle techniques from his long time friend and fellow photographers Anthony De Jeso and Phillip Helsman, he began taking photographs of celebrities, many of which appeared as magazine cover photos.

Schwartz's uniqueness lay in his special connection with his subjects.  Although he stood behind the lens, he engaged his subjects in an environment most suitable and comfortable to them, extracting ideas from them in order to find the most authentic shot that best encapsulated his subject.  With his technique, he was successful in securing the most natural and spontaneous responses, resulting in beautiful and realistic portraits.  

In five short years, he accomplished much, photographing world-famous characters including many British and American figures like Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher and Henry Kissinger.

Bern Schwartz left the world a legacy of magical and timeless portraits that continue to interest us, and the world of photography, even today.  He once said "my goal is go create photos that  present the real personalities and humaneness of each of my subjects that will stand the test of time."  Indeed, with one click, he accomplished just that.  

Schwartz's portraits that are connected to Jerusalem will be exhibited in Mishkenot Sha'ananim's Dwek Gallery on June 7, 2012, at 17:00 p.m.  Schwartz's portraits of other international figures will be exhibited at the Naggar School's gallery on June 6, 2012, at 16:00 p.m., Rechov H'Ayin Chet.  Both exhibits will be open until July 21, 2012.  

For more information, contact Liat Rosner, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 052-898-0191